All this tax talk has got me going

Honest and reasonable. They're the three words the Australian Tax Office advise all small businesses to live by.

If you run your business honestly, and do your best to have accurate records, you're considered to be toeing the line when it comes to tax time.

All this talk in the Federal Budget about small business and tax made me remember I'm still to file my tax return from last year. Luckily, my record keeping system is fairly organised (one business owner's chaos is another's calm), so it doesn't take me long to pull it all together.

Here are some tips from The Small Business Success Guide that I live by:
* Keep good records: The ATO admits it focuses on small businesses that it thinks haven't taken 'reasonable care' with their record keeping systems. So do it right from the word go.
* Be honest: If you've made an honest error in your books, get on the phone to the ATO and let them know about the discrepencies before they find them.
* Know the norms: The Tax Office offers some benchmarks of what's acceptable when it comes to tax in your industry sector. Stay within these.

Happy sorting.

Margie